Awhile back we were blown away by Andrew Zuckerman’sWISDOM. And who
wouldn’t be? It’s a great execution of a great idea. Buy it.
So imagine our surprise when Jessica and Joshua Applestone of Fleisher’s
told us Mr. Zuckerman was a customer of theirs and that he wanted to tell their
story with the small film we had done for them. We were flattered.
Andrew can trust his butcher. We all should be able to trust our butchers.
Anthropologie is responsible for this bit of good food informational dispatch.
Food, Inc. has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Brought to life by Robert Kenner and Eric Schlosser this movie presents a very
powerful message to us all. The idea of how important it is to be aware of all
these not-so-great foods concepts (if they are really that thought out) is a great
wake up call for anyone who eats. And oh, by the way, Joel Salatin is wearing
one of our shirts (from back when we were designing that sort of thing).
You could call Patrick Martins a mover and a shaker and you would be right.
After working in Italy to help launch Slow Food USA, he moved back to helm
its national office. Mr. Martins was everywhere — founding the magazine for
Slow Food, writing the Slow Food Guide to New York Restaurants, Markets
and Bars, and still finds time to be the series’ editor for both Chicago and
Northern California Slow Food Guides. Patrick currently sits on the advisory
board for Slow Food USA with the title of Founder.
Taking slow food a step further, Patrick founded Heritage Foods USA with his
business partner, Todd Wickstrom. Their goal is to help farmers market their
artisan foods and to provide an alternative to industrial agriculture.
They are doing a great job.
The Heritage Turkey Project, which helped double the population of heritage
turkeys in the United States and upgraded the Bourbon Red turkey from “rare”
to “watch” status on conservation lists, was Heritage Foods USA’s first foray
into saving American food traditions.
In 2004 it became an independent company (from Slow Food) dedicated to
saving not only turkeys but also Native American foods, pigs, sheep, bison,
cows, reef-net salmon, goats and all breeds of food livestock.
The studio is in a recycled shipping container in Bushwick, Brooklyn behind Roberta’s. (this restaurant is quickly moving to the head of the “best pizza”
line — you have to check them out) On the radio one can hear people like
Zak Pelaccio, (Fatty Crab) and Anne Saxelby (Saxelby Cheesemongers)
talk about their current food obsessions.
Patrick is all about fighting the good fight, and it looks like he’s winning.
Joseph Wrede is as farm-centric as they come. If it’s grown (the right way) in
the ground, on pasture, or pulled from the water, he wants it in his restaurant
and on his plates.
Since the early days (when his restaurant was only slightly less well-known)
and located down the road in Ranchos de Taos, Joseph has turned out com-
pletely original, yet somehow classic plates. Now located on the historic Taos
Plaza, inside the Hotel la Fonda de Taos, Joseph’s Table has become what The New York Times described as, “unmissable”.
Joseph has worked with the notion that to use anything other than the very
best ingredients was not an option. Forging an alliance with his local sources,
he gets vegetables from up the road at Morning Star Farm of Taos, wild things
(like chanterelles) foraged by a few of the area’s in-the-know folks, lamb from
over the mountain, impeccably fresh fish and beef from pastured cows.
Joseph is doing more than cooking. His devotion to ‘local’ extends to helping
to build Taos (and its local farmers) into a stronger, better community.
Special thanks to Putnam Murdock for the brilliant music you hear.
In Chimayo, New Mexico the chile represents deep, fundamental family values.
Here, Chimayo chiles are grown like they have been for approximately four
hundred years. They’re planted (usually with seeds passed down through the
family), weeded and harvested by hand — on small plots, where more than likely
the ditch irrigation system was dug by the farmers’ grandparents or great-grand-
parents. This means there are profound connections to the past and to the earth.
When chiles and seeds are sold in Chimayo it’s not simply an exchange of
money; it’s “a communal act” as author Deborah Madison wrote in Saveur
magazine. There are rituals and niceties surrounding the culture of the chile.
Working with local farmers, The Native Hispanic Institute is helping to preserve
local family traditions by replenishing native seed stock. In recent years, the
number of farmers growing the Chimayo had dwindled. Institute founder,
Marie Campos, took up the challenge and with a generous donation of seed
from Victoria and Jose Martinez, she has worked to enlist more farmers to grow
the legendary chile.
Local food culture is alive and well in Chimayo, New Mexico thanks to the hard
work of a dedicated group of farmers growing the Capsicum annuum “Chimayo”
chile. Quoting from Ms. Madison’s article once again, “They’re not just a spice;
they’re part of an old culture, an ancient way of life.
We wish to express our most sincere thanks to Victoria and Jose from Chimayo
for sharing their family’s story with us and to Juan Lucero and Los Primos from
Santa Fe for their fabulosa música.
Ghost Ranch. Georgia O’Keeffe. Arroyos. Northern New Mexico. Near Abiquiu,
about an hour north of Santa Fe, Richard Belanger and his ever-changing band
of assistants, associates and helpers grow some of the tastiest produce this
side of the Rio Chama. Or is it the other side?
Whatever side of the river you’re on, Harmony Farm is yet another story of how
people with drive, a little piece of land and a whole lot of hard work make good
food from soil, air, water and seeds.
The farm might feel isolated, but Harmony Farm is very much a member of the
local food community. Their familiar blue bus makes its presence known every
Saturday morning at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Richard told us that nearly
eighty per cent of their sales happen at the market in five hours. We saw first
hand how they conducted business on a couple of hectic Saturdays. People
can’t wait for the blue bus to arrive. And why not? The good food Harmony is
selling on Saturday’s market day, was picked the day before (and sometimes
even the morning of).
It’s fitting then, that you’ll see this quote from the first President of the Czech
Republic, Vaclav Havel, on their website:
“I am in favor of things that have authenticity, roots, originality, verve, balance,
taste, communications, challenge, relevance to their time — in short, things
that make sense.”
David Falkowski is getting a reputation. . . as the Mushroom Man. He’s busy
building his business, Open Minded Organics into one of those “must visit” tables
at the Sag Harbor Farmers’ Market. A legion of fans flock to his pop-up tent to
purchase his succulent fungi before they’re gone. And if you happen to dine at
a top-flight East End restaurant, chances are you’re eating Open Minded.
They state what they’re doing right on their home page: “We are passionate about
growing organic mushrooms, as well as being advocates and supporters of local
sustainable agriculture.”
Mr. Falkowski (and his partner, Ashley Tomkiel) are literally hand-crafting each
small batch of mushrooms. They grow their own spawn and harvest by hand at the
last possible minute to ensure their mushrooms arrive at their peak of freshness.
Lots of younger people are finding agriculture as a way to do something positive
for the earth, for their customers and for themselves. David’s motivation is the
same thing, only he took a few twists and turns and entered through the mycelium.
And the mushroom eaters that get to taste his wares are better for it.
Art Ludlow could not be happier. He and his family made a decision a few years
ago to stop farming potatoes, with the intention of starting a dairy operation. The
idea was that a few pastured cows would give premium milk and he would start
producing delicious, hand made, farmstead cheeses. Fortunately for the cheese
eating public, his plan worked.
Located near Bridgehampton, on Long Island, New York, his farm, Mecox Bay
Dairy, produces a fabulous variety of raw milk cheese that continues to gain
momentum among those who appreciate “milk’s leap toward immortality”, as
author Clifton Fadiman so eloquently wrote.
Anne Saxelby, from Saxelby Cheesemongers says Art’s cheeses “have a complex
and earthy flavor” and she compares his Atlantic Mist to a French Camembert.
That gave Art Ludlow, cheese maker, yet another reason to smile.
Mary Woltz is not shy about about expressing her opinions. Ask her about bees
(she calls them ‘the girls’) and she’ll launch into a detailed explanation of why
she thinks bees are the hardest working members of the food chain.
She should know, Mary is a bee-ologist. OK, that’s not a real word, but it’s an
apt description of this bee keeper from Sag Harbor, New York. Her knowledge
and understanding of bees makes her honey some of the most sought after on
the entire eastern seaboard.
She named her business Bee’s Needs because that’s exactly her attitude when
it comes to her girls. She places the needs of the bees before anything else.
She’ll allow things like sleep and eating slide if maintenance is required on her
one hundred plus hives.
Ms. Woltz has taken the idea of a CSA (community supported agriculture) and
twisted it slightly to present one of the first (if not the first) CSA featuring honey.
Her version of a CSA is community supported apiculture. Email her at mgwoltz@optonline to find out about her program.
“I’m unconventional in many respects,” said Woltz. “I was taught that if you care
about the bees, they will look out for you. The bees’ needs come first.” And she means it.
Andy Little has a dream job. No, his salary is not equal to or greater than the
captains of industry of whom we’ve been reading. He has no private jet on call.
Not yet.
What he does have is a food community in his home town of Hanover, PA
that would be the envy of a lot of chefs from New York to San Francisco.
The Restaurant at the Sheppard Mansion is where Andy is executive chef and
chief procurer of all things local. Perfect local produce? Check. Absolutely
delicious pork, beef and chicken? Check. He gets it all from local, small-scale,
growers and producers that just happen to also be his very good friends.
“When the tomato lady comes in for dinner, she’s treated like a rock star,”
says Mr. Little. “Our servers tell our guests, ‘that lady grew the tomatoes you’re
eating tonight’ and they get very excited’. There’s an identity, a story behind
their food and people are more and more appreciating that.”
If you’re ever in and around the southern Pennsylvania, Northern Maryland
area, The Restaurant at the Sheppard Mansion is well worth a detour.
Last year, at Thanksgiving time, we were given an incredible opportunity.
Beth Hauptle from Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) asked us to document
an event in which her organization was involved in New York City.
Animal Welfare Approved is a non-profit organization that goes out into the
field and verifies the conditions under which a farm’s animals are being raised.
Earning an approval from AWA means the animal was raised humanely and in
a sustainable way, on a family farm, with animal welfare at the core of their
program. To quote Robert Kennedy, Jr., “Animal Welfare Approved is the
gold standard for how animals should be taken care of.”
On Wednesday, November 26, 2008, over eight hundred clients of the Food Bank
were fed a hot, delicious Thanksgiving banquet. The meal featured donated locally
grown, organic vegetables and humanely-raised, heritage turkeys from the
aforementioned Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch.
Work had begun two days earlier with Executive Chef Zak Palaccio (known for
his NYC restaurants, Fatty Crab and 5 Ninth) and Executive Chef David
Schuttenberg (Cabrito, NYC) helming a troop of unpaid volunteers generously
donating their time. The team peeled vegetables, ‘pre-roasted’ the turkeys and
set the stage for what was a genuine, shared experience.
Nathan Gross, Head Chef at the Food Bank, coordinated the workflow in the
kitchen as he spoke to us about the people enjoying the meal he helped prepare.
“These folks can’t afford to go to a good restaurant, but there is no reason we can’t
bring a good restaurant to them. They say to me, ‘Chef, this is delicious.’ That’s all
the thanks I need.”
It never ceases to amaze us how generous food people are with their time,
talent and energy. To learn more about this special day and the amazing people
who made it possible, click on the video below.
CSA. It doesn’t stand for Creative Solutions Ahead, but it could. This acronym
stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it’s how two young, enterprising
farmers from the Hudson Valley are marketing their produce. We don’t mean to
imply that there is only one kind of CSA. Many different farm products are sold
this way, but our story focuses on produce.
Miriam Latzer and Benjamin Shute are the aforementioned farmers based in Tivoli,
in upstate New York. Their operation goes by the name of Hearty Roots Community
Farm and they are building a legion of fans with their fresh vegetables from June
until November. (They must be doing something right if sold-out shares, year after
year, are any indication).
These two are all about sustainability. They farm with minimally invasive methods
and although they fire up the Massey-Ferguson when it’s time to plow, they have
a smaller, oddly quiet, battery-powered tractor for other tasks. They care very much
about how they grow their produce and their loyal customers know it.
(By the way, you can get eggs from their farm-mates, Awesome Farm, but that’s
another story.)
Having a big article written about them (and Awesome Farm) in the New York
Times hasn’t fazed them — there’s too much to do. It’s almost time to haul out the
seed catalogs and start all over again.
From the Times article: “I never thought I wanted to farm,” Mr. Shute said. “But it
feels like an honest living.”
Hats off to Miriam and Benjamin for a job (and season) well done.
The way we’ve chosen to tell this story is a little different.
First off, we want to say a big ‘thank you’ to Kevin Calabro at Hyena Records for
allowing TPWFU to use the fierce music you hear. It’s by The Frank and Joe Show. Their playing adds so much to this piece — thanks to Frank and to Joe.
In 2003, we were lucky enough to be in France, in Provence, in the area known
as the Var. The Bieler family was very gracious in allowing us to photograph
their harvest, their vendange. Harvesting grapes is hard work, but with hand
harvested grapes and extraordinary care Château Routas was producing
highly regarded wines. Most notably, their rosé and their reds.
In 2005, the Bielers decided to sell their successful vineyard, but don’t think the
Bielers are out of the wine business.
Charles Bieler has been busy building Three Thieves into a California powerhouse
and has recently been working with Paul Newman’s Own to introduce wine into
Newman’s charitable circle.
We will always remember the time we spent at Château Routas.
At sixteen years of age, Jere Gettle joined Seed Savers Exchange and never
looked back. With his interest in gardening (and collecting) as the catalyst, he
started Baker Creek Seed Company And he still looking for ways to get the
word out about the value of heirloom seeds.
Now his operation distributes nearly 100,000 catalogs yearly, hosts a gardening
forum-I Dig My Garden, and has put together what is generally acknowledged as
one of the best seed collections around.
Jere gives a good explanation here of why heirlooms matter. The diversity of
plants is a strength that Baker Creek promotes mightily. As host to several events
at his southwestern Missouri location every year, Jere is a outspoken advocate
for real food through old-school seeds. He loves this stuff.
Shot at Baker Creek Seed Company near Mansfield, Missouri.
Animals play a huge role at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and
the man responsible for all of it is Craig Haney. Sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys,
rabbits, even honeybees are cared for by Craig and his staff.
Working directly with Chef Dan Barber, who helms both Blue Hill at Stone Barns
and Blue Hill Restaurant in Manhattan, Haney knows very well what ‘top quality’
means. One bite at either restaurant will tell you that.
His intuitive feel for the animals and their needs is evident. Pastured and
(almost) pampered, the system at SBCFFAA treats animals the way they are
supposed to be treated. And it shows. It’s almost as if Craig’s charges know
him on sight. If all the animals had names, Haney would surely know each
and every one of them. This guy really cares about what he’s doing.
Because of her contacts from her stint in the wine business, Paulette Satur and
her husband, Chef Eberhard Müller have a unique niche. When they decided
to buy a farm and start growing specialty salads, leafy vegetables, heirloom
tomatoes, root vegetables, and herbs, the chefs she knew from her wine sales
were curious. Even better, they became customers.
Today, they sell the majority of their products directly to top tier New York City
restaurants. Their beautiful farm on the North Fork of Long Island is perfectly
situated for growing and for transporting freshly harvested products quickly to
the awaiting city kitchens.
Trading the noise and heat of Chef’s kitchen for the tranquility of Long Island,
Satur Farms is quietly, and with precision, growing with the seasons.
Watch the video shot at Satur Farms, Cutchogue, New York
For a guy who thinks locally, he sure gets around: Training at La Varenne
in Paris, cooking at notable 3-stars in France, mentored by Alice Waters
at Chez Panisse, then on to Michael’s in Santa Monica. From there, New
York, where he’s credited with bringing California cuisine to the city’s scene
with Jams, Bud’s and Washington Park.
Jonathan’s upbringing got him into local food early on. Growing up visiting
his grandparents’ farm gave him knowledge of how agriculture works.
Today’s he is chef-owner of Barbuto in the West Village and Madaleine
Mae on the Upper West Side. He manages to still keep a hand in California
with his West County Grill in Sebastopol.
A wag once said that ‘it’s easy when you know how” and Jonathan’s
use of simple ingredients, simply prepared, proves how right the wag was.
Shot at Barbuto in New York City and in the Hudson Valley. Special thanks
to Steve Lewis for producing Chad Fisher Group’s music for this story.
Thank you to Peter Pioppo for use of his handsome portrait of Mr. Forgione.
Long Island, New York has a long history of producing wine and today it’s
again a respected wine region. Shinn Estate Vineyards, on the North Fork,
is recognized as a leading producer, not only for the quality of their wines,
but also for their farming practices. Along with being great stewards of their
land, Barbara Shinn and David Page are making outstanding Bordeaux-style
wines–on the east coast, no less.
They are no strangers to food and wine. They met in Berkeley, California
when both were in the food business. They came east and opened Home,
a restaurant in New York City. Their efforts received kudos as early
proponents of local food and wine. (They have since sold their interest in
the restaurant.)
Not only is their vineyard a manicured gem, but their guesthouse (with
four perfect rooms) is the only place to stay on a vineyard property on the
North Fork. And the best thing? Breakfast by the fantastic David Page.
The People Who Feed Us would like to thank Steve Lewis for his
brilliant music for this piece.
Shot at Shinn Estate Vineyards, Mattituck, New York.
This guy is all about helping you to eat locally. He buys local vegetables from
his neighbors at the Union Square Greenmarket, dunks them in way tasty brines,
adds fresh herbs, spices, and other delicious accoutrements and before you
know it–another batch of Rick’s Picks has been born.
Harkening back to the original reason for pickling, partners Lauren McGrath and
Rick Field are preserving the bounty of the harvest. They offer not only the kinds
of traditional tastes we all know and love, but they rock green beans, okra, beets
asparagus and curried green tomatoes. Their flavor profiles are in the forefront
in the pickled genre–you don’t see these combinations just anywhere.
The folks at Rick’s Picks are picky about their ingredients, their process and are
extraordinarily enthusiastic about their wares. And why not? These jars contain
some of the best tasting, turbo-charged flavors available anywhere.
Rhinebeck, New York–In an beautiful renovated church, Josh Kroner is serving
the freshest possible ingredients at his hugely successful restaurant. He is a
supporter of the Slow Food movement, so much so that he named his restaurant, Terrapin. As in turtle. Pretty slow. Not the service–the local food attitude.
In an earlier life, Josh chefed at Mesa Grill (under Bobby Flay) where he learned
all about building flavor. He’s taken those lessons to heart at his own restaurant.
There’s even a duck quesadilla on his menu.
His support of local producers means great stuff on the plates coming out of
his kitchen. This is a chef committed to local, slow, quality ingredients.
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